The Hunt for the Twilight
by Seriyan
Summary: An ordinary girl discovers she isn't who she thinks she is and is thrown into the world of magic meeting new friends, new allies,and new enemies.But… if all this is supposed to be natural,why does she keep screwing up? Why can't she get anything right?
1. Chapter 1: What is Magic?

"_Once their magic land did glow  
>With vagrant, ever-present light:<br>When sprites would play in flowing fields,  
>The twilight shining in their wings<br>As they swam through silky seas of mist,  
>Before the coming of the Wave<em>

_Once the sprites had reawakened  
>The voice resounded in their minds:<br>You have my sincerest praises  
>For vanquishing the Wave's eight phases,<br>Each imbued with twisted souls  
>Collected by their maker;<br>Each a brutal incarnation  
>Embodying the psyche.<em>

_Thus the exalting onslaught went  
>Till Nameless conceived a final hope,<br>And drawing out a flask of spirits  
>Hurled it at the barricade,<br>Then blazed a spark with blade on blade  
>Setting to light a rampant fire;<br>A majestic funeral pyre  
>Felling the wall atop its maker.<em>

_A mythic beast long said to sleep  
>'Neath the edge of the world's end<br>Sheathed by the Wavering Peninsula,  
>A creature of the greatest might,<br>The sacred dragon of twilight._

_In the place of the calamitous, only life was known._  
><em>After the circling stars<em>  
><em>When the eastern dark void, the air full of despair<em>  
><em>Sprites have long since lost their wings<em>  
><em>As they did their innocence,<em>  
><em>The timeless dusk in which they lived,<em>  
><em>And perhaps of all the saddest;<em>  
><em>No memories remain but this:<em>

_Streaming forth in sheer delight,  
>The Twilight Dragon met the Wave;<br>Twirling 'round his adversary  
>Till inextricably entwined<br>They momentarily shone as one,  
>Like a swiftly dying sun<br>Whose embers flare with glory bright  
>Before it's taken by the night.<em>

_When the aura dissipated,_  
><em>Wave and Dragon both were gone,<em>  
><em>He knew this victory's true price;<em>  
><em>The last and greatest sacrifice<em>  
><em>At land's end so far away<em>  
><em>For every voice that now did cheer<em>

_Yet to return, the shadowed one.  
>Who quests for the Twilight Dragon<br>Rumbles the Dark Hearth,  
>The daughter that waited for the shadows repeated,<br>"For sure... For sure I can go home."  
>But the girl did not know...<br>The truth that waited her at the end of the journey  
>the eternal mourning of her land."<em>

- Epitaph of Twilight from .Hack

* * *

><p>The sounds of book pages being turned echoed through the peaceful stillness of the bedroom. A girl appearing in her teenage years sat in the middle of a twin sized bed with an old book with worn and tattered pages sitting gently in her lap. With a sigh, she brushed a strand of her light brown hair out of her face, but she did not stop reading. She closed her eyes as she got to one page though, the graphic images danced in her mind's eye.<p>

_Crimson blood was splattered across the floor. Dead bodies were thrown carelessly about the blood-covered floor – like toys that no longer entertained a child, left in a heap of no life. _

_"Save the princesses! Save the princesses!" _

_Shrieks of terror echoed through the stillness. The air reeked of destruction and despair. _

_"The King and Queen are dead! Find the Princesses! Save them! Save them both!"_

_"It's too late! One is gone! The other is dead!"_

_"THIS IS ALL YOUR FAULT!"_

_"NO IT IS YOURS! YOU'RE THE ONE THAT LEFT THEM!"_

_Voices ran together into a muddled mess, whatever light that remained was soon diminished in a black cloud that over took the land from the outside and swallowed the building whole. The once beautiful, flower-covered land became a wasteland, overcome by darkness. Screams of terror erupted as a giant pale pink-orange dragon fled into the skies._

_Then, all was silent._

She sat up and looked out her window into the sunlit day. She brushed another stray strand of hair behind her ear and sighed once again.

_What does this mean… the destruction… the Twilight…Could it be? No, I doubt it. That day… so much death… _ Slowly, she got up off the bed and gently set the book she was reading down. Maybe reading that book had been a bad idea…

Absently, she wondered over to the opened the window and a gentle breeze kissed her skin. She closed her eyes and welcomed the sounds and smells of her home. Then, she opened her sky blue eyes and smiled at the familiar sight. The clean air of her home realm was what she needed to calm down.

She loved her home realm and all its beauty. What had once been only the second most beautiful realm, now held the title for the most beautiful – with good reason.

The village was high above the forest floor, built into the trees, with old wooded bridges woven through the branches that guaranteed safe crossing between the different t trees. There were other bridges that spiraled around the trees that led to the ground below. A series of multicolored lanterns hung from the branches and lined the railings of the bridges. Wind chimes also hung from the trees and as the wind blew, the different notes rang out into the sky.

The houses were built to encircle the trunk in shapes ranging from rough ovals, to pentagonal. The elaborate roofs had a gentle slope that curved up to a point; the shingles were painted in many colors and were set up in a jigsaw pattern. Many houses had wind chimes hanging off the tips off the points. Several of the porches had hanging flower arrangements in all different designs and hues. The doorways were all similar in style, a simple sliding door that was propped open during the day to let the breeze flow into the house.

On the ground below, there were merchants lined along the paths selling fresh fruits and children were playing in the brush. Located in the center of the forest village, was one great tree that seemed to glow a pale blue when the moonlight shown on it at night. It was hollowed out on the inside.

Outside there was a large red wooden structure that resembled a Shinto Gate, with large wooden steps that led up into the tree. The hollowed entrance to the tree; however; was blocked off by decorated by large shinto doors. The pattern on the doors resembled a large sky blue full moon with a smoky outline of a dragon encircling it. There was a big lock on the front of the doors to keep outsiders out.

The familiar sounds helped ease the horrific vision from her mind's eye. A robin flew by, chirping its happy melody. She smiled again as the bird flew around and landed on her windowsill. She was just about to pet it when suddenly, she froze. Her eyes widened in shock, she gasped for air as her vision went black.

_"Those old witches screwed up all those years ago because they didn't have all their facts straight. They weren't subtle enough in their approach. This is why one must do their research before they make their move." A voice pierced through the darkness._

_"But we're safe now, the Company of Light are long dead – it's safe to make our move now- and we'll succeed where they failed!" another voice answered._

_"No one can stand in our way," a third voice cackle, "We shall rule the magical dimension and succeed where our ancestors failed!"_

_Three silhouettes were seen as a wild fire of flames danced wildly into a pentagram of black magic. The trio of voices erupted into cynical laughter; and then slowly echoed away into the darkness._

_Everything turned white with a bright flash, and suddenly there was a black orb that hurtled closer and closer and an amazing speed. It got bigger and bigger until there was nothing but darkness._

Her eyes flew open as she slammed her hands down on the windowsill; the little robin flew away in fear. She squeezed her eyes shut, and when she opened them, she stared at the bird, whose tiny body was barely visible from the distance. _._ She shook her head, trying to clear it. She cast her gaze out the window once more before backing away and closing the window. She glanced around the room looking for a distraction – anything to get the image out of her mind. _No. I won't think about it_, she thought.

Feeling dizzy, she staggered to her desk and clutched the back of her chair for support. Purple spots filled her vision and she lost all feeling, her eyes closed.

When she regained consciousness, she was laying on her bedroom floor on her right side. With a sigh, she rolled over on her back and looked up at her wooden ceiling.

But in the corner of her eye, something stuck off the side of her desk. She frowned; everything on her desk had been put away. Why was a piece of paper out? Slowly, she sat up, not wanting to move too quickly and faint again. She reached up and pulled the paper down and examined it.

Centered in the middle was a picture of a pink castle with a blue roof with many wings and columns, underneath it read, "Student Status: Accepted," with more information in the paragraphs below it. _What in the magical world… Why is this here? I put it in the drawer…_

With a sigh she looked at the calendar, and then back at the paper.

_School starts tomorrow, I need to finish packing,_ she thought to herself as she set the letter back on her desk and she was reminded of the dark orb that had engulfed her and she shivered. She sighed and stood up._ Then, we'll see what happens… I just hope that I am wrong._

She turned and ran out of the room, her long light brown hair flowing behind her. "Mom, where's my suitcase?" She yelled.

The book she had been reading was left abandoned on the bed as her footsteps echoed down the old wooden hallway.

* * *

><p>A little tortoiseshell cat lay curled up in the middle of a twin size bed. The black tail twitched as the feline opened its hazel eyes. The cat blinked before slowly standing up to stretch – the bell on the pink collar jingled with the movement – then opening her jaws wide in a yawn that showed off her pearly needle-sharp teeth.<p>

She sat back down as a teenage girl walked into the room. "Well, Ginger. I'm bored and I don't know what to do, Mom and Aunt Lisa are out buying decorations for Grandma's party." she said as she started scratching her cat's ears. The cat purred in response to the sudden attention before closing her eyes to settle back down for another nap.

The girl sighed and glanced at her reflection in the mirror. She was met with a girl about five foot-five inches high, with pale creamy skin, smoky blue eyes, and wild caramel colored hair with blonde highlights.

"HEY I HAVE AN IDEA!" she yelled suddenly, causing Ginger, the cat, to jump off the bed and run into another room. "Now… where is it?" she muttered before running to the kitchen and scribbling out a note to her family and taping it to the door before leaving the house.

* * *

><p>Half an hour later, she was approaching the field where wildflowers grew. They'd be perfect to decorate the tables with. She skipped along grinning brightly, not really caring who stared at her. <em>Besides, haters are gonna hate regardless of what you do. <em>Or at least that is how she saw it.

She slowed to a walk and began to carefully tread on the uneven ground. The loose soil was a testament to the farmers recently working the area over with their farming equipment. Not that it was a problem. If she kept her footing, she wouldn't fall into the slightly damp soil. It's wasn't that the mud bothered her, heavens no. She was the kind of girl who would go mud-riding in a heartbeat. It was the fact she didn't want to get caught trespassing on the edge of some farmer's field, just to get to the clearing. She had heard that the man who took it over was a bit grumpy, to put it nicely.

_Almost there!_

She was almost to the clearing when it happened.

The wind picked up, violently – sending leaves flying off trees. They swirled around and then the ground started to shake. A loud supersonic booming sound echoed throughout the area, ringing out like an explosive gunshot.

The ground began to quiver and shake. It was as if the apocalypse was happening. Losing her balance, she fell to the ground. The shaking was so violent, she felt her teeth rattling together, her body vibrated as she sunk into the loose soil on the shaking earth. The wind was knocked out of her and she felt as if her heart were about to beat out of her chest. Then in a matter of seconds, all was still.

Smoke rose into the sky beyond the trees – near the clearing.

* * *

><p><em>Was that an earthquake? <em>She thought, standing up and dusting the soil off her clothing, the girl put a hand to her head and felt the knots the wind made in her hair and groaned. So much for having treading carefully or decent hair day, she sighed, knowing she'd have to fix it again later, and find a change of clothes.

Then, she hesitantly took a few steps forward. _What was that? Should I even go over there? Maybe I should run._

She cautiously put her right hand on a nearby tree as she crept closer. She remained still for several heartbeats. Her legs were still shaking from the quake. She was afraid of falling down again. Taking a deep breath, she willed herself to stop shaking.

She could faintly hear voices. Hesitantly she crept closer, using the trees to hide. Every sound made her flinch – as if the sound of her own breathing would alert the voices of her presence. She froze when a twig snapped under her feet; she wanted nothing more than to run away, but she needed the wildflowers.

Once she was sure nothing was after her, she continued creeping closer to the source of the mini-earthquake and wind gust. With a sigh of relief, she reached the clearing – the sight before her was incredible.

The guitar pick-shaped craft was lying on its side; smoke was coming out of the rear. From what the girl could see, there was glass near the front – the window was shattered – the girl figured there was glass on the ground. There was also a group of teenagers gathered in front of the large red aircraft. She was close enough to hear them talking. She froze, _Someone could survive a crash like that? And look… virtually… unscathed?_

_No really. Shouldn't the passengers be dead?_

"Princess Eve, are you alright?" the young man with reddish-brown hair, asked as he helped the only female of the group up. One hand was laced with hers and his other hand was on her shoulder.

"Yeah, I think so," the girl answered while holding her free hand to her head, "what was that?"

"I don't know, it seems the ship has had a malfunction," the young man with green eyes answered, "But I will have to assess the damage before I can determine how to fix it. Until then, we're stuck here… Averel, do you know where we are?"

"Just a second," the young man with black hair and blue eyes replied, he was holding an electronic device that looked like an iPod, "Um…" he trailed off as he poked at the screen for a few seconds, "it looks like we are on Planet Earth," he sighed, "this is going to make things difficult."

The young man with the green eyes blinked in surprise, "Earth? Of all places to land, we crash on Earth? We'll never get help at this rate… Can you contact Red Fountain, Caden?"

The platinum blonde teen sighed and set an unusual head set down, "I'm trying but there's no response, we're out of range. Hey Blair," he called over to one of the other guys.

"What, _your highness_?" the teen that had been helping the girl replied, turning around to face the blonde, a slight look of irritation flashed across his features before he released the girl's – apparently named Eve - hand.

"See if you can give me a hand with the transmitter. If we can establish a small signal, we can send our co-ordinance to Red Fountain." Caden shot the other guy a stern look as he waited until Blair was close enough for him to whisper something to him – what was said earned the blonde a light smack square on the head from the brunette.

"Very funny, _Prince_ Caden." Blair replied as he began to help the blonde take transmitter apart.

Caden rolled his sky blue eyes, "Enough with the formalities – it's annoying."

"Ahriam... What exactly did you mean by 'We'll never get help'?" Eve asked in a shaky voice, before anything else could be said – she didn't really want to listen to an argument.

"Well, there haven't been any traces of magic on Earth in centuries, and the technology here can't help fix the ship. It's too primitive. Then there's the fact that the humans, or 'Non-Magical Beings' can't see the ship," Ahriam answered as his green eyes scanned the side of the aircraft.

"Why not?" Eve asked, "They can see us, right?"

Ahriam nodded before climbing up onto a wing on the aircraft, "I know for a fact they can't see the ship, but they might could see us; however, they'd probably think that we're human as well. I don't think any of them believe in magic anymore. I've mentioned that there hasn't been any magic on Earth for centuries, hadn't I?" He gestured to the ship, "Obviously this is magical."

"Yes, I know that, Ahriam, but –"

Watching from the trees, the girl blinked in confusion, _Magical beings? Humans? Technologically inferior? The heck?_ Many questions raced through her mind, but she felt her legs moving faster than her mind could think, "The people on Earth may be technologically inferior, but they are not stupid," she heard herself say as she walked over and stood a few feet away from the group.

"Yeah, Ahriam," Eve deadpanned, "Is that what you meant by _'Humans can't see us?'_ Because it looks like this one can see us just fine."

"So you're an alien?" the girl replied, her smoky blue eyes were wide with wonder, "Weird... I always pictured aliens as four feet tall," she made hand motions to represent the height, "having green skin, and having big black eyes."

Ahriam glared at Eve before taking a piece off wing, "First off, I said they can't see the air craft, not us. Secondly," he looked at the new girl and with an air of indignation, said "we are not aliens; we are magical beings - superior beings actually - compared to you humans."

"So by," she made air quotes, "_superior beings," _as she finished the metaphoric quotation marks, she tapped her left index finger against her chin, and "you mean you're aliens – and is that red thing right there," she pointed to the air craft, "your space ship?"

"Well, technically we're not aliens" Eve said with a sigh, "We are... special humans..." and after a pause added, "kind of."

"Actually, it's not a space ship, it's one of Red Fountain's best fighter jets, but I can see how you would think of it as a space ship. You don't see something like this every day," The dark haired boy with blue eyes sighed and put down the iPod-like object, "Well, I guess since you're here, maybe you can help us? I'm Averel. This," he pointed to the other dark haired boy, "is Ahriam. Don't mind him, he's not normally this cranky – it's an off day for him." Averel shot Ahriam a dirty look before continuing, "Those two over there," he pointed to the blonde and the brunette who were still tinkering with the transmitter, "are Prince Caden – the blonde one – and his Royal Advisor, Blair. This," he gestured to the girl he was standing beside, "is Princess Eve."

The caramel haired girl looked at the group and blinked several times before she spoke again, "By prince and princess… you mean… like Royalty? But you said you're not from Earth and… there aren't many Royal families on Earth…. England that I know of off the top of my head…" she trailed off nervously while taking a small step back, "if you're not aliens… what are you?"

Ahriam made a noise laced with indignation but was cut off by Caden, "Well you see, we're from a place called Magix, it's like a parallel dimension. We are magical beings. Eve" he made a gesture to the girl, "is a fairy. Ahriam, Blair, Averel and I are what are known as Specialists. Now, what was your name?" As he spoke he slowly walked over to the caramel haired girl and held out his hand.

"Um… it's… Ashton," she stammered as her voice trailed off into a whisper. She stared blankly at his hand before hesitantly moving her own, "and you're special-what?"

Caden smiled warmly at her before taking her hand and shaking it, "It's very nice to meet you, Ashton – and really don't be intimidated by the formal titles. I don't bite and I'm pretty sure Eve doesn't either," he chuckled as Eve attempted to hit him on the head – but failed because of the height difference.

"Just you watch, Caden. I'll get you sometime. You have to sleep eventually," she added with a sickening sweet voice, she glared at the blonde prince before turning back to Ashton, "Now then, we're all acquainted – Ahriam, do your stuff. Explain our situation."

"Oh sure, make me do all the work," he grunted as he picked up a screwdriver and began to poke at something inside the wing of the aircraft.

"Shut up, it could be worse," Blair called to him, "Just be glad someone here can actually see the _Blackbird_."

"It's a human," Ahriam complained, "why tell her anything? It's not like she can _actually help_ us. Does it even matter? Honestly – she's pretty stupid if she can't figure out we aren't aliens – considering we just told her what we are."

"Hey! I resent that." Ashton grumbled as she crossed her arms.

"Dude, don't be like that. That _human_ knows this area," Blair snapped at Ahriam before turning to Ashton, "don't you?"

"I do. I know it like the back of my hand. I could navigate Stuttgart with my eyes closed," Ashton replied smugly as she sent a glare to Ahriam.

Averel rolled his eyes, "Well that's good, we're lucky we ran into a local after all." he cut in before an argument started, "Ashton, was it?" He paused until she nodded, confirming her name. "As Ahriam and Caden have mentioned, we magical beings. We were on our fighter craft," he gestured to the red craft behind him, "and on our way to return to our school, and drop Eve off at her school when the _Blackbird_, that's the craft, went down and now we are stranded here."

Ashton watched the magical beings with a blank expression on her face, "First off. As awesome as your story is, I don't believe you. Come on – magic? Fairies? Special-whatever you are? Really? In all honesty, I think you're crazy, but I'll get you the help you need – physically that is. I'm not certified to do any mental probin'. I'll admit I can come up with some crazy bullshit off the top of my head, but this takes the cake."

"Wait! Don't be like that! I'm really a fairy!" Eve replied as she half jumped, half skipped over to stand by Ashton's side, "We're not lying to you!"

"Yeah," Ashton replied sarcastically, "and I'm really a dragon disguised as a little girl."

"Nah, you're much too tiny," Caden replied with a soft smile. "We have dragons in the magical realm too – in fact, Red Fountain has a class for dragon wrangling."

Ashton looked at the prince and arched an eyebrow, but said nothing. She did; however, continue t o stare at the silver haired prince as if he had grown several heads – heck they had just told her they had magic, maybe that was possible?

Averal glanced at Blair who nodded and said, "Eve, why don't you transform?"

"Huh…? Oh right! I can show you my fairy form!" Eve replied as she slapper her forehead. "Why didn't I think of that sooner? "

"Because you're a ditzy princess?" Ahriam suggested with a shrug.

"I didn't hear you saying anything, genius." Eve snapped as she crossed her arms.

"Less fighting more demonstrating," Averel cut in once again, "before she decides not to help us. Need I remind you, she already thinks we're crazy?"

"Alright, alright, don't be so grumpy." Eve replied as she took a ring off her finger and tossed it into the air, "CRIMSON MOONLIGHT!" she cried. The ring wobbled and began glowing. It extended into a scepter with a crescent moon and a star in the center of the circle at the top. Eve levitated off the ground as a shining powder danced around her. From the powder, lavender beads materialized and began floating toward her hair, and began to link themselves together in a single strand woven in her hair. In between some of the beads were a deep purple crescent moon, then more beads, and a deep purple star on the end of it. Her clothes were washed away in a cloud of stars that swirled over her body. As the cloud of stars flew away, the stardust left on her body flashed bright silver and became a deep purple sparkling top with two pale lavender straps holding it over her right shoulder, powdery lavender gloves on her arms, deep purple shorts with a paler purple belt that sported a silver star buckle and ruffles hanging off of it. Another flash and dark purple knee high boots materialized on her feet. She twirled around once as her silver crescent moon shaped wings sprouted from her back, and then spun around again, revealing her new look, and held one hand out and caught her scepter as it fell.

Ashton remained still with her mouth open, gaping- but her silence didn't last long, "You're… You! You're! Wings… and flapping and," she moved her arms wildly. In all honestly, she looked like she was trying to fly away herself, "And then the smoke and the sparkles! And… And… And… You!" At some point she went from waving her arms wildly to pointing at Eve before staggering backwards and promptly landing on her butt.

Eve smiled and hovered closer to the girl and offered Ashton her hand, "Pretty cool isn't it? Hm… you're hair… it doesn't look so good. Just to show you a little magic, I will fix your hair for you – this time it's free since you need something for that mop."

Ashton said stared at Eve with wide eyes.

"Relax! I'm joking. I'm not going to make you pay for fixing your hair. I think just straightening it out will be a step in the right direction," Eve said with a grin as she examined Ashton. "Mhm. This will do the trick."

A small silver light formed at the tip of Eve's finger, "Relax. It doesn't hurt. I do this to my hair every morning. If it doesn't hurt me, it won't hurt you," she said when she noticed Ashton looked like she was about to high-tail it out of there. Eve put her free hand on Ashton's shoulder while she waved her glowing finger over Ashton's head.

For a moment, nothing happened, but then, Ashton's hair started to detangle itself as it began to lay down straight, then in a white flash, her hair was straightened. Ashton gasped and began to run her fingers through her hair. It went from tangled and limp to smooth and silky.

Ashton looked at Eve in wonder and continued to touch her hair. "How did you…?"

"Easy. Magic~" Eve replied as she gave Ashton a thumbs-up sign.

"Huh." Ashton replied, crossing her legs to sit Indian-style, "Alright, I believe you now."

"Sorry, I can't do much for the scrapes on your knees. I'm not a healer-fairy, but I can do something about the mud all over you," Eve replied as she raised her arms above her head and small orbs of light rained down on Ashton like glitter. In no time, the mud that had previously been covering her was gone and she looked just as she had when she left the house.

Ashton started at them in awe as she stood up. "Alrighty then. So it looks like y'all are telling the truth. So… a parallel dimension you say?"

"Um… Ashton, can you stand up?" Caden asked suddenly, his brows knit together as he narrowed his eyes. He looked over at Averel, who had just opened his mouth to speak, "Sorry dude. Didn't mean to cut you off."

After a muttering a soft, "It's cool," Averel went back to tinkering with the ship.

"Why? Is somethin' wrong?" Ashton asked, blinking in confusion, but complied to Caden's request.

"I'm going to have to ask you to turn around and hold your hair up," He said as he started walking over to her.

Ashton turned her back to him and held her hair up, "Ok, but I'm gonna ask why, ya know that right?"

The blonde specialist chuckled, "I figured you would. I want to check something I thought I saw," he said as he gently ran his fingers over her spinal cord. Then, in the center of her back, he stopped, "Guys, come here," he said suddenly, his tone held something Ashton couldn't quite recognize.

Ahriam rolled his eyes, "What is it now?"

"Make sure I'm not feeling things," Caden answered with a warning glance.

Ashton started to turn around, but Caden put his hand on her shoulder, "Stay still, please. We'll explain in a minute," he turned to Ahriam, "Right here. You can barely feel them but they are there. She has them."

Ashton started to say something but was cut off by Ahriam, who snorted, "There's no way. There aren't any magical beings on earth. Caden, you're feeling things."

"No really. There are wings right here. I'm touching them. They aren't as solid as Eve's but with a little magic training, she might be able to transform," Caden replied.

Eve squealed, "Another fairy? HA! Looks like we will get saved after all – so much for you always being right, Ahriam!"

Ahriam put down the screwdriver he had in his hand. "Caden. The heat is messing with your head."

Averel looked at Blair and they walked over, "Let's see," Averel said and mimicked Caden's actions. "Interesting," he murmured, "Who'd have thought we'd get that lucky."

Blair also came over and did the same thing, and eventually, even grumpy Ahriam did the same thing.

Then they all began talking quickly. Obviously they were planning, but still. Nothing they said made any sense to Ashton and she couldn't get a word in, so she just gave up and proceeded to start picking the flowers she came for.

Eve hovered beside Ashton, "Now what guys?"

"Well," Ahriam began "The best thing I can think of is Eve, you teleport us back to Red Fountain, use a spell to hide the craft and then wait for us to return."

"Alright then." Eve said, before turning to Ashton, "Uh… what are you doing?"

"What does it look like?" Ashton replied, not bothering to stand up from her rather unlady-like bent over position. She didn't bother to even stop picking the brightly colored flowers.

"Why are you picking flowers?" Eve asked confused, it was the magical being's turn to wear funny looks.

"For decoration. Getting these," she gestured to the flowers, "are the reason I came out here to begin with. It'd be stupid to go home without them. I'm just glad your space-ship-mobile didn't destroy them _all._"

The magical beings grew silent.

"So," Eve spoke again, "The only reason you were out... was for flowers… Wow… talk about coincidence. Since you all seem to agree that she has wings, maybe I can help awaken her powers. So I'll send you guys' back now, then when you guys check in and do all of your… fancy whatever-you-have-to-do-check-in stuff, come back and get us."

"Sounds like a plan," Blair replied as Eve began twirling her scepter above her head before stopping it and pointing it at the group of guys.

"See you later~" Eve told them with a wink, as they disappeared in a flash.

Once again, Ashton returned to gaping, while Eve flipped her again, "So got what you came for?" she asked as she morphed back to her 'human' form.

Ashton nodded mutely.

"Then how about we get back to your house?"

"Sounds… good," Ashton answered and the two began to walk back to Ashton's house.

_T.B.C  
><em>

* * *

><p><strong> -WHOOT-<strong>

**:D :D :D :D :D :D :P**

**DISCLAIMER:  
><em>WINX CLUB AIN'T MINE! It rightfully belongs to Mr. Straffi, who deserves lots of hugs and cookies for giving us this lovely show. *yells loudly* THANK YOU MR. STRAFFI!<br>Aside from the obvious statement of 'Winx Club ain't mine,' I do own a few of the OC's but most of them belong to, or are based on my friends._**

**Author's Notes: **

**_I put the Author's notes at the bottom in hopes that they would actually be read – that and they wouldn't really fit with the beginning of the story. This will probably be the only chapter with the author's notes at the bottom._**

**Ok, please note that this isn't your typical 'Winx Club' story. I'm going to mainly use OC's and minor characters – like the teachers (mainly because I'm too lazy to think up my own, and I like the teachers. _Miss Grisselda is my favorite. She is just like my grandma._ *shot*)****  
>If you don't like OC stories, then this probably isn't the story for you. Please don't hate :)<strong>

**Also, the first transformation is "Magic Winx" because, sorry folks, I'm an old-school Winx Club fan. I liked it BEFORE it was popular. (Namely 4Kids Version. Yes 4Kids fails, but give them a tiny smidge of credit. They didn't TOTALLY Muck up Winx Club. They just failed epically with it – plus that was how I was first introduced to it. *yay for boredom and channel surfing on a summer day* **

**This story will loosely follow season one, but will gradually stray from your usual Winx Club stuff – but certain key things will be included. **

**Also, for filler purposes, at some point, I might** **request OCs. Note that I said 'might' I'm still undecided on that matter.**

**ALSO NOTE: The show never really specified the boy's purpose other than 'stand there and look pretty while the girls save them' – To be fair, they didn't do much 'Epic Hero-ness' or really anything in the show – so I gave them purpose – in this story, the Specialists get the action and love they deserve. (You're welcome XD)**

**While reading this, if you choose to continue, since there are many things not explained by the show, I am going to make it up as I go along – as I see fit for the story – so you may want to brace yourself for what my mind could spout out. _(No really, even my mind scares me sometimes.)_ So in the event things get wacky, _which we should all assume they will_, be prepared to be thrown for a loop in your knowledge of our beloved show Winx Club. **

**Another thing, I've decided to try something new with this story. I'm writing it in 'Arcs' of about 5 chapters or so – some 'Arcs' might ask questions, others might answer questions from a different 'arc.' **

**But by the end, everything will be answered. If you are familiar to the anime/manga/game _Higurashi_ then you will understand the set up with the format of question and answer arcs. Each arc is inspired by a song, maybe its lyrics or its title. You will be able to tell the end of each arc – The title of the chapter will be the title of the song the arc was inspired by and will include lyrics from the song at the start and end of the chapter.**

** So if you don't mind, tell me what you think about my little experiment? :D**

**_A few Warnings:_  
>- A few chapters <span>will<span> have dark themes  
>- Character Death<br>- Occasional Bad Language from some of the Characters  
>- Temporary Fits of Insanity<br>- A bit of Gore. (I will post a warning)  
>-Plot holes are <span>VERY<span>** **likely**

**If any of these things offend you, then it's probably best that you don't read it. If you do, please don't complain. I'm not trying to be rude, but I did just warn you. Remember though, that this story is rated T, so nothing will be so bad that'd I'd have to up the rating. (At this point and time)**

**Reader Digression Advised.**

**Reviews are appreciated, but not necessary :3**


	2. Chapter 2: Where Do I Go From Here?

**Pink Fluffy Unicorns Dancing on Rainbows~~**

**Yeah… that's stuck in my head 0.0;**

**Seriously, try attempting to take a College Algebra test with that in your head.**

** It doesn't work. xD;**

**Anyhoo, back to basics.**

**I want to take this opportunity to give some honorable mentioning for some very important people who made this project possible, so please, give them some love that they deserve:**

**Akane, also known as xElementAutumn017 on DeviantART. She's doing all the artwork for this story. So everyone, hop on over there and shower her with love. She's got some of the characters drawn up and finished already and she's going to post their pictures as they are introduced. I must say that after seeing them before hand, she did them justice and drew them just as they were imagined. She is an amazing artist, and I am proud to call her my friend. **

**Flashy, also known as Arisa1312 on DeviantART. She's my non-biological little sister and I love her to pieces. She's always giving me support when I am at my lowest, and she has taken it upon herself to beta this for me. So go visit her and give her some love, she's amazing!**

**Acly, also known as Silverstream06 on DeviantART, and one of my best friends in real life. She's an amazing artist in her own right, but she has helped me tremendously with the plot by blurting out random things.**

**Mousy, one of my other best friends in real life, and my idiotic partner in crime – together we are the dynamic duo of stupidity. She, like Acly helps me when I am running random ideas by them, and also, she's the one that forces me to get off my tail and update. (Literally. She stays on my ass about getting stuff done. There is no procrastination with her constantly harping on me 8D)**

**Disclaimer:  
>I still don't own Winx Club. It still belongs to Mr. Straffi.<br>After reading the warnings from last chapter, wouldn't you be afraid of what would happen if I owned it? :o**

**Anyhoo, on with the story, I think I've rambled enough~**

* * *

><p>Ashton sighed and flopped down on the couch while Eve made herself at home in a recliner, "Magic is real… I don't believe it…"<p>

"Well it is, so believe it," Eve replied offhandedly, while she began to examine her nails.

"But this is so random! I was just going to pick wildflowers to use as decorations for a birthday party, and then, next thing I know, I'm getting all gusted up by a windblast from a big red spaceship and I see humanoid lookin' aliens who are spouting out crap about magic and stuff. What else am I supposed to believe?"

"Well, try stopping with the 'Aliens are trying to probe my brain' stuff," Eve said calmly, "And if all the Specialists felt wings on you, then you're a fairy."

"In my defense–"

Eve cut her off with a slight cough, "I just had a feeling you were going there. Now then, Miss Long-lost-fairy, want to hear about the magical dimension?"

Ashton blinked in surprise, "Um," she paused seeming to think it over, "Yes. There's no denying what I saw when you transformed earlier, and you fixed my tumbleweed of a head."

Eve glanced at Ashton and grinned, "Oh and don't forget the mud. From the looks of it, you looked like you had fun rolling around in it ever so gracefully. I'm happy to have helped you out. It looked pretty bad – just saying, you know?"

"Thanks for being subtle," Ashton deadpanned, "Please, don't worry about my feelings. They aren't hurt even a little bit."

Waving her hand dismissively, Eve snorted, "You're not even slightly offended," she retorted flipping a stray strand of hair over her shoulder. ""I'm going to start off with Alfea, since that's my destination and possibly yours. Not to mention little nooblets must know this right off the bat"," Eve began, "Alfea represents one of the Three Points of Magic, the others being Cloud Tower and Red Fountain. The school is horseshoe-shaped, with the open end facing south. The wings have two levels and a basement level divided into many rooms. It's mainly used for storage and stuff like that. The Quad is the open area of the horseshoe, and surrounding that, there are paths between the outer regions of the school, as well as benches and the Wishing Well, which is said to make any wish come true. At that end is the road that leads to the City of Magix, as well as the other schools. A trail leads from one gate to the other." She paused to catch her breath and grinned before continuing, "The open end has a fence with a single gate that lets out at the bus stop – from there it'll take you to uptown magix – and let me tell you, I love the shopping centers!" Eve paused to squeal, "Outside the fence is the Dark Forest, which by the way, leads to Red Fountain. That my friend," she winked at Ashton, "is where the specialists go to school."

"That sounds… impressive," Ashton breathed, her eyes were wide with wonder.

"It is," Eve replied with a grin, "you'd fit in nicely, since you look the part"

"Look the part?" Ashton echoed, her brow furrowed in confusion.

"You have the build of a fairy. Have you not noticed that you're a bit smaller than the other girls around here and even your family?" Eve asked while stretching her arms out above her head. "Remember those other girls we saw when we were walking back to your house? You look different than them."

"I thought I just took after my mom. She's not that tall either," Ashton answered as she drew her knees to her torso and hugged her legs, "And… I never really thought about it."

"That's fair enough, but you're built like a fairy. Fairies need to be small and light so their wings can support them when they fly," Eve explained, "ya know?"

Ashton nodded, "That makes sense. But how could the nice guys and Jerkface… er… Ahriam feel my wings?"

"Jerkface?" Eve snickered, "Ahriam's usually nicer than that. He just has an attitude most magical beings have, that they are superior to humans. Don't hold it against him too much. He's really pretty cool once you get to know him." Eve flipped a piece of her wavy brown hair out of her face, "But to answer your question, that's part of what a specialist does," Eve explained with a shrug. "All guys in the magical dimension actually have a little bit of magic in them That is enough to make them a magical being , but not sufficient enough to use it like fairies and witches are able to. The only exceptions to that are the wizards, which are very rare, but they do appear sometimes. The magic from a guy who has magic strong enough to be a wizard is really strong. I mean like stupid strong. Wizard spells are probably the strongest spells in the magical dimension, but it's hard to meet a wizard because there are so few of them. Does that make sense?"

Ashton nodded, "Yeah, I get that much. So what else does a specialist do? I still don't really understand what exactly a specialist is."

Eve nodded, "Part of a Specialist's job is to take care of a fairy or witch's well-being. It depends on the case and which side the guy himself chooses to side with. Because of that, they can faintly see a fairy's wings when she isn't transformed – but only to a limited degree – Blair explained it to me once that it mainly depends on how the light hits the fairy. He said that if the light hits a fairy at a certain angle, there is a soft glow where the base and tips of the wings are. Obviously, every fairy has her wings and they stay there, invisible even when she's not in her winx form. Using transformation – or winx activation –as it is called solidifies them to some degree where they can be seen by everyone." Eve paused to take a breath before holding up one finger – presumably pretending to be a teacher, "As for what makes up a specialist… um… let's see… I'm not sure how to explain it, but basically, it goes down to if you're a boy or a girl. In the magical dimension, if you're born a girl, you will either become a fairy or a witch. It just depends on what type of energy your magic has. If it's positive, then you're a fairy, if negative, you're a witch. If you're born a boy, you will most likely become a specialist, but if you have more magic than a normal boy, then you're a wizard. For boys, it depends on their basic magic level."

"Oh ok. So what make the specialists different than wizards other than lack of potent magic?" Ashton asked.

"Their body-build," Eve replied with a grin, "Most wizards, unless they work out, don't have near the muscle mass a specialist has. Their weapon choices also vary. A specialist uses tools, swords, technology and cool gizmos like that. A wizard usually only uses a staff and his magic – but they usually have a basic knowledge of hand-to-hand combat, in the event their staff is taken away – for self defense and what-not."

"I see," Ashton replied quietly. "This is… a lot to take in…"

"No worries! You'll get used to it eventually," Eve responded optimistically. "So I guess we just sit here until your mom gets home?"

"That was the plan. When she gets back, we're gonna start decorating for my grandma's birthday party," Ashton said with a nod.

"Well how about we just do it now? I know the perfect decoration spell which would take down one of the things on you and your mom's list," Eve grinned as she hopped to her feet.

"Do you mind?" Ashton asked as she stood up.

"Nope! Not at all," Eve answered.

Ashton smiled brightly, "Well then it's settled. TO THE BACKYARD!" she announced with newfound enthusiasm.

* * *

><p>Opening the door led to a garden. Stepping out into the peachy-red brick patio, one was able to see a few flowerbeds resting near the very edge. Aside from the flowerbeds, there were hanging flower pots and a potted butterfly bush. The southern part of the fence was lined with shrubs. Two trees almost side by side made a small safety haven of shade in the otherwise empty yard. In the middle of the yard was an old white storage shed.<p>

"Wow… your back yard is… dull." Eve deadpanned, "Other than the flowerbeds here… there's… not much here."

"Thank you, Princess Obvious," Ashton muttered under her breath.

Eve shrugged Ashton's comment off, "Alright, so you've got the tables set up, they just need decoration… and… that's it? Seriously? Some tables out in the yard – what kind of party is that? You need decoration! It's got to be fabulous~"

"Well… I wasn't in charge of the decorating committee," Ashton half-heartedly defended herself.

"Then I nominate myself as chief designer," Eve replied. Fierce determination radiated from her and there seemed to be a fire raging in her hazel eyes.

Ashton arched a caramel-colored eyebrow, "Oh really? And what would you suggest we do?"

"Well, the flowers you picked earlier will be pretty lying on the tables, but you need something hanging in the tree. The tables are under the tree, and then there's a line of them over there. Why not put up paper lanterns? They will look pretty while it's still light out when the sun starts going down, they'll give off a soft glow. It will look pretty, and give you a little more light to clean up."

Ashton frowned as she pondered Eve's words, "You… have a point. But I don't have any lant-"

Eve waved her hand in dismissal, "No need to worry. I got you covered."

Closing her eyes, she mumbled something Ashton couldn't quite understand under her breath. At first, nothing appeared to happen. Then with a flash, the yard began decorating itself. With another flash, there was a purple table cloth with lighter purple flowers on the table and beautiful accent lanterns hanging in the trees.

Eve stumbled a bit as she put a hand to her head. "Eeeeh," she half-moaned-half-grunted.

"Eve! Are you alright?" Ashton half-shrieked in a panic as she grabbed Eve's arms to help steady the shaky princess.

"I-I…" Eve took a few deep breaths, "Yeah… I'm fine, I think. I just got a little dizzy. No need to worry," she chirped, sounding almost as perky as she had before.

* * *

><p>"Well, thank you for saving us the trouble of decorating the backyard," Ashton said as she sat down and turned on the TV.<p>

"It's no problem. You're letting me stay with you. It's the least I could do to he—

"This just in," a news anchor's voice came across the room from the TV, "there seems to have been strange tremors located in Stuttgart, Arkansas. It is strange because none of the surrounding towns have reported feeling anything, yet around two-thirty this afternoon, the weather studio was flooded with phone calls from the people of Stuttgart reporting strange tremors. As of right now, nothing has been reported, but we are sending a team of scientists from Kansas to Stuttgart to investigate this strange phenomena. The team is expected to arrive in Stuttgart late this evening and they will begin investigating in the morning, and we will cover more on this story once more has been discovered."

As the news cut to commercial, Ashton hit the mute button on the remote, "Wooow. You guys sure stirred up the media," she deadpanned.

"…yeah…" Eve replied while rubbing the back of her head.

"Do you think the guys will be back in time to get the craft? I'd hate for those scientists to find the field y'all crashed in," Ashton noted, a grim expression decorated her features.

"Well, unless they are magical beings, they won't be able to see the craft… but the damage on the ground…" Eve trailed off. "Well, Red Fountain and some members of the magic council will take care of it…" she trailed off, murmuring an "I hope" that was more for her own ears than Ashton's.

"I hope you're right," Ashton answered with a sigh, "and knowing the quacks around here, they'd say it's a UFO and there are aliens walking among us. Then they'd change the story and say that there was no UFO and no aliens."

"…so that's where you get your theories from." Eve deadpanned, snickering when Ashton stuck her tongue out at her. "Anyway, let me call Caden and see how their end is looking," Eve said, pulling her phone out of her bag.

"Alright," Ashton replied as she leaned back in her seat.

Eve paced around the room with her phone pressed to her ear, and after several minutes, she sighed. "He's not answering – that idiot," she groaned, glaring at her phone before yelling dramatically, "Why you no answer me!"

Ashton raised a questioning eyebrow at Eve's mini temper-tantrum.

"Hehehee… sorry about that. Caden frustrates me sometimes. Cousins~ gotta love 'em," she sighed, "well, maybe Blair has his phone on…" she trailed off as she started dialing again.

After a few moments of silence, Eve's face lit up, "Blair!" she exclaimed excitedly, "Finally, I got a hold of someone." She paused, giving the copper top on the other line time to speak.

"Oh really? That's good. I was worried that I wouldn't warp you guys to the right spot. Sorry about that. Transporting you back to Magix from Earth was harder than I thought it would be. Glad to know you guys were still in one piece and not in pieces. Anyway, I was calling about when you thought you'd get back. The humans are fixing to start snooping around Stuttgart, so you've got to come retrieve your 'space-ship-mobile,' A-Sap," she informed the squire, pausing to let him speak. Then she abruptly started laughing at something he said.

Ashton tilted her head to the side, waiting patiently for Eve to finish her phone call.

"I see. Alright, and thanks. Yeah, I'll tell Ashton. OH yeah! And tell my dorky cousin to turn his phone on," Eve answered, laughing again at whatever sarcastic comment Blair had muttered, before hanging up. Putting her phone back in her bag, Eve turned to Ashton, "Blair said that Ahriam and Averal are almost done filling out the incident report, and that the Red Fountain staff and the Magic Council are going to come clean up the area sometimes this evening, so they should be done before the scientists get here."

"Alright," Ashton replied, feeling a surge of relief. She was about to say something else, but was interrupted as the door was thrown open.

A slightly small and plump woman with light brown hair and brown eyes flew through the door carrying bags full of party supplies, "Ashton! I'm back! Are you ok? I felt the tremor and I tried to call, but you didn't answer! The police are out directing traffic. Getting back here from Wal Mart was a nightmare."

"Sorry Mom," Ashton replied hugging her mom. "I was outside and didn't take the phone with me," she answered. "Also, um… I'd like you to meet my new friend , Eve."

"Oh, ok," the woman sighed, "I was worried, are you two ok?" she asked looking the girls up and down, "Eve? Nice to meet you. I'm this ding-bat's," she pointed to Ashton, "mother. My name is Laura."

Eve smiled, "It's nice to meet you too, Miss Laura. By the way~ Ashton and I have a surprise for you~"

Laura sighed, "Ashton, I don't really have time for surprises, we've got to get this done in a matter of hours and the party story didn't have much in the way of decorations."

"Well," Eve smiled softly, "then you'll appreciate the surprise even more~ Come with us!"

Ashton gulped, "Also um… This is going to sound crazy… but…" she paused taking a deep breath, "Eve is a magical fairy Princess who lives in some parallel dimension. Her and some random really hot guys were in this red air craft that I refer to as a spaceship and Eve used her magic and sent the guys back and the earthquake you felt was really their spaceship-mobile crashing. Apparently they think that I am a long lost fairy," Ashton exclaimed on one breath.

Laura cocked an eyebrow, "That. Is by far. The most _interesting _thing you have ever said to me."

"Just trust me, Mom," Ashton answered with a sigh, cupping her hands over her mom's eyes. "You'll see!"

Eve and Ashton began to guide Laura out of the house. With slight resistance from said parent, "Ashton, what on earth are you doing?"

"Proving my point," Ashton replied dryly.

* * *

><p>"One…" Ashton spoke nervously, gulping as she glanced at Eve.<p>

"Two," Eve replied confidently, "And trust me! This is awesome!"

"Three," Ashton replied, with a bit more confidence.

"Wow. This looks amazing! Ashton, how did you get the yard decorated so fast?" Laura exclaimed as Ashton took her hands away from her mother's eyes.

"Well, Mom…" Ashton began hesitantly, "Eve did all the work… she used magic and… got it done in a few seconds."

"Ashton, you're not actually expecting me to believe that Eve is a fairy princess, are you? Be rational. Parallel dimensions, spaceship-mobiles, fairies? It sounds like something from Twilight Zone mixed with Harry Potter thrown together in a badly put-together Disney movie," Laura told her daughter as she continued to examine the decorations. "Your grandma is going to love this."

"Mom, you can't tell me that you've ever _seen_ Eve before today. I know you work at Wal-Mart and you see a lot of people, but Mom, really. Have you ever seen another girl who looks a bit like I do?" Ashton struggled to keep her voice even as she was getting frustrated. Usually her mother was easier to talk to. "And have you ever heard **anyone** talk with an accent like hers?" Ashton quickly added, ignoring the scoff she heard from Eve, who muttered something that sounded suspiciously like '_look who's talking about having an accent.'_

"Well…" Laura hesitated.

"And consider how the yard is decorated with decorations we don't have. And how fast it was all jazzed up," Ashton added.

"It can only point to ooooone~~~ thiiiing," Eve chimed in, "Magic. If you'd like, I'll demonstrate for you."

"And how do you plan to do that?" Laura questioned.

"I'll transform!" Eve replied, closing her eyes. "I'm not going to use my scepter this time, so no need to take my ring off," she informed Ashton.

Crossing her arms in front of her chest, Eve began to relax and stayed extremely still. After remaining in that pose for several heartbeats Eve frowned, "What's this!" she exclaimed. "I can't transform! I can't even connect to my winx! What kind of farce is this!"

_Oh boy…_ Ashton thought, _now how do I prove I'm not lying?_

"I think I miiiiight have over done it a bit earlier. It was a bit of a strain transporting the guys back to Magix… Well, when Miss Faragonda gets here later, she'll prove our point."

"Who?"

"Miss Faragonda, the headmistress of Alfea! She's going to stop by later to talk to you, Miss Laura!"

"What!" Laura exclaimed.

"Well, if _I_ can't prove I'm who I say I am because my magic ran out, then I know Miss F can!" Eve exclaimed brightly.

Laura looked as if she were going to say more; however, a slam of a car door abruptly caused the older woman to close her mouth. She gave the girls a stern look, "Say nothing about this to them."

"I hadn't planned on it. They already thing we're nuts, Mom," Ashton replied while rolling her eyes.

Eve nodded, "I'm just a friend from school~ Here to meet the family!" she replied, seemingly oblivious.

"Well then, let's get this over with," Laura told the girls.

"Yes ma'am," they replied in unison, still lacking enthusiasm.

* * *

><p>The door to the patio was thrown open and another woman, similar in looks to Laura followed by a girl a little older than Ashton and Eve, and two boys, both younger than said girls.<p>

"Hey Aunt Lisa!" Ashton said with mild enthusiasm, hugging the older woman.

"So Ashton, what's new, and who is this?" she gestured to Eve.

"Her name is Eve, I met her at school. She's a foreign-exchange student visiting Stuttgart. She arrived just before the last week of school and we had a lot of classes together. She's gonna spend the summer here," Ashton blurted out the first thing that came to her mind. "And Eve, this is my Aunt Lisa, my cousins Rachel and Hunter, and I don't know who this other kid is."

"Nice to meet you," Eve smiled brightly, "Mrs. Lisa, and Rachel and Hunter, and Person that Ashton doesn't know."

Hunter snickered, "He's my friend, Caleb. So foreign exchange student? Where're you from?"

Eve paused momentarily, coughing slightly, before remembering Ashton saying something about _royalty in England._ "I'm from England" she replied cheerfully.

Caleb narrowed his eyes, "You don't sound British to me."

"But you don't sound intelligent to me, either so we're even," Eve retorted.

"Well then. So we're all congregated in the back yard to idly chit-chat? What's next?" Another voice spoke. "Well, move it or lose it! I want outside to see my grandkids. Well! Hurry up. I'm not getting any younger." An elderly lady with silvery-blonde hair opened the door, promptly hitting Caleb in the hind-quarters with said door.

"Hello Grandma!" Ashton cheered, muffling a snicker.

After making all the necessary introductions, the group, minus the true senior burst into a chorus of "Happy Birthday" that ended with said senior asking what kind of _happy juice_ the younger generation were drinking, and _why weren't they sharing?_ And so, after several snickers and jolly laughs, the party ensued.

* * *

><p>"Well, somehow, the party managed to go down without anyone dying. Praise the Lord!" Ashton exclaimed, while dramatically giving the air a fist pump.<p>

"Yeah, it did go surprisingly smoothly." Laura agreed as she sat back, "Other than a few _problems_ that were out of our control."

"That cake was aaaaamaaazing!" Eve gushed excitedly, "I mean it was woooonderfuuuuul~~" Eve looked as if she were about to bounce off the walls.

"Eve," Laura arched an eyebrow, "How many pieces of cake did you have?" she asked, fully concerned.

"Only ten~~~" the princess answered as she sat up, grinning.

"TEN?" Laura exclaimed, "Eve, were you hungry?"

"What? On Hinode, I would have only been allowed a small little corner piece, because anymore than that would be 'unlady-like' and it's not fair! I love sweets! Cut me some slack if I want to milk the fact that I'm not being watched like a hawk here! I can afford to splurge a little bit before returning to training at Alfea."

Ashton and Laura laughed in response, "Well don't worry," Laura spoke, "I won't tell on you. What about you, Ashton?"

"Mum's the word," Ashton responded cheerfully.

"Soooo Caleb, Interesting person," Eve spoke abruptly, rolling her eyes. "Eeesh. Talk about obnoxious. Didn't anyone ever tell him, you never ask a lady her age? Heck, you certainly **do not **tell them they look old. Though I have to admit. I love your Grandma! She's wicked awesome!"

_Everyone sat around the table. They had just finished saying grace when Caleb suddenly rolled his eyes._

_"So this party if for an old hag? How old are you anyway? You've got to be ancient if you've lived this long." Caleb said, looking the elderly grandmother in the eyes."Seriously. Who does this for old people? Just put them in a nursing home and leave 'em."_

_"How about we drop you off in the desert and leave you?" Ashton retorted with a snort, though her blue eyes shown with a fierce fiery rage. One quick glance around the table told her that she wasn't the only one aggravated._

_"Caleb," Grandma said coolly, "Kindly do us all a favor and pour arsenic over your plate. You are here because you were invited. It isn't your God-given right to be here. Remember your place when in the company of others."_

"Heh," Ashton muttered, "I can't believe he said that to grandma. Why if he had said one more thing, I'd have-"

With a flash, the couch burst into flames. The flames fanned across the couch and immediately began to scale the walls.

Laura and Ashton jumped back. Eve frowned, waving her hands around muttering something under her breath. "Ah CRAP!" she yelled, taking several steps back, "I _still _can't connect to my powers."

"Then let's get outside," Laura commanded as she ushered the two teenagers to the door. "I'll call the fire department once we're outside."

* * *

><p><em>"Tro Lantue Miyer Utyirer Byunh Latrof Anuwe!"<em> A voice said behind the panicking trio, who had yet to make it to the door. At once the flames that were eating the furniture and walls vanished, and the damage done had been reversed. "I'm glad I made it in time to save your house," the voice continued sweetly.

The stunned trio turned and saw an older lady with pale silvery-gray hair pinned up into a neat little bun wearing a light blue blouse, with a matching skirt and heels. Behind her was what looked like a whirlpool of light. "Don't be alarmed," she said softly to Ashton and Laura, "This is only a portal for me to return to Alfea. We use them for quick travel in Magix."

"Miss Faragonda!" Eve exclaimed excitedly, dashing over to give the elderly fairy a hug.

"Oh, well hello to you too, Princess Eve! It's good to see you again," the woman gently returned the hug, "I trust you've been well?"

"Yes ma'am!" Eve replied politely, "Oh, Miss F, this is Ashton, the fairy that you were informed of," she gestured to Ashton before continuing, "and this," she gestured to Laura, "Is Ashton's mom, Miss Laura."

"Ah, yes, I see," Faragonda examined Ashton and Laura with a sweet smile. "It is very nice to meet the both of you. My name is Faragonda and I am the Head Mistress of Alfea. Ashton, was it?" she looked at the younger girl.

"Yes ma'am," Ashton replied nervously.

"Ah, it seems that they weren't mistaken," she said kindly, "I do sense a very faint magical aura from you."

"So what does that mean?" Laura interjected curiously.

"Simply put, Ashton is a magical being," Faragonda answered sweetly. "I can see that you are still quite shaken up from the fire, which I can't really blame you for. It's a frightening feeling of watching your home burn before your eyes. I'm sure that you are quite concerned with the idea of sending your daughter to a parallel dimension, with a bunch of strangers. It is quite the distance to travel, and it would be hard for you to see her, and you'd worry daily. Am I stepping too far to assume that only the two of you live in this house?"

Laura nodded, "That is correct, everything you said was correct."

"Ah. I apologize if I have offended you. It would get lonely without Ashton here to keep you company. I can sympathize with that," Faragonda answered softly, "But I'm sure you can guess, that was no normal fire. It was a magic fire – a fire that was created by Ashton," she looked at the girl as she spoke her name, "who seems to be a fire fairy," she noted adjusting her glasses. "I'm only guessing what happened, but something upset Ashton and her emotions manifested themselves as that fire. I am afraid that without any magical training, fires like that will continue to happen at random."

"I see…" Laura replied quietly, "and sending her to Alfea is the only way for her to learn how to control it."

Ashton gently touched her mother's arm. "We were discussing my grandma's party, and I was talking about how my cousin was getting on my nerves right before the fire…" Ashton reasoned, "so _I caused_ that fire!" her eyes widened with realization.

Faragonded, "Yes, the magical residue that is still here matches your aura signature. The fire was caused by your magic. So, it was emotion related as I had assumed. Then it is dire that you attend Alfea," she told Ashton, before turning to Eve, "I am surprised that you and the Red Fountain students ended up here. The portal to Earth was closed two-thousand years ago," Faragonda muttered more to herself than to the others in the room, "and that I was able to get here… someone opened the portal on Magix's side," Faragonda frowned, seeming lost in thought.

"Actually, that may be a blessing!" Eve exclaimed, jumping into the conversation, "Miss F, if the portal to Earth in Magix has been opened, then it would make communication between Ashton and Miss Laura easier! Plus, it would explain how it was so easy for us to crash here. If it had been sealed, then we would have landed somewhere in Magix."

"Actually, Eve, you may be on to something." Faragonda commented. "Laura, while no human can enter Magix unless the portal to Magix was unsealed on this side, a magical being can come to Earth – which would be difficult to do… however, we can work up an arrangement so that Ashton can visit Earth whenever needed. At Alfea, we have an open campus for lunch, and students are free to visit their homes on weekends, and if it would make you feel better, I can send a special computer from the magical dimension that is linked to Alfea's private internet server so you can communicate with Ashton through e-mail and webcam if that would give you peace of mind."

"As amazing as that sounds," Laura replied, "I agree that I don't want Ashton to accidently roast my house, but there is no way I could afford tuition."

"Actually, about that," Faragonda smiled kindly, "I had a meeting with the magic council prior to my arrival here. It was agreed that should financing be an issue, Ashton would still be able to attend Alfea under the condition that she maintains at least a 'C' average."

Laura frowned, "if they wouldn't do that for a normal student, why do it for Ashton? That's a bit unfair."

"That is true," Faragonda agreed, "and under normal circumstances, we never would have considered an option; however, there have been no traces of magic on Earth for centuries. To put it simply, the council jumped at the opportunity considering that this may mean that there are other hidden magical beings on Earth still. Another student couldn't attend Alfea this year due to unforeseen circumstances in her own realm, leaving a freshman spot open for Ashton, and she will be rooming with Eve, if that brings you any comfort."

"I see," Laura answered with a sigh.

"Laura, I realize that this isn't an easy decision to make, but to be fair, think about your daughter's safety. What would happen should she lose control of her powers in a public place?"

"You're right," Laura agreed dejectedly.

"She will be perfectly safe at Alfea. We have the finest security in the magical dimension, and Alfea is located very close to Red Fountain; if anything happens, then the Specialists can be at Alfea in a moment's notice. Faries at Alfea are trained to control their powers, and to defend themselves with them.

"I see." Laura sighed. "Well, what must be done must be done. What do I need to do about enrolling Ashton into Alfea?"

Faragonda smiled, "Just fill sign these two forms, and you will be done," she answered, handing the papers to Laura.

Once the papers were signed, Faragonda smiled, "Thank you Laura, you've done the right thing. You'll see." She then looked at Ashton and Eve, "Girls, I expect you two to be ready bright and early tomorrow morning. Check-in starts at 11 am sharp. Eve, use this charm to transport you and Ashton both to Alfea," she replied giving Eve a necklace with a golden pendant shaped like butterfly wings. "Sending the specialists back through to Magix exhausted more of your magic than you're letting on. You're magical aura has almost vanished. I'm surprised you even managed to send the boys back in one piece. Now you rest up and don't use anymore magic for the remainder of this weekend. Oh, and Red Fountain has already retrieved their aircraft, and a team of advanced nature fairies restored the landscape to how it was before the crash. It seems as if they had got done with their restoration efforts just in time."

"Yes ma'am," Eve replied, "and thank you for having… the damages cleaned up."

"It was no problem, we have to protect ourselves after all," Faragonda answered the princess. "Oh, and Ashton," Faragonda turned to the caramel haired girl and smiled kindly, "I look forward to your attendance to Alfea," she replied, stepping back into the swirling circle of light.

* * *

><p>Faragonda faded into the light and the portal vanished without a trace. It was as if the meeting had never happened… but yet it had. The papers sitting on the table proved it.<p>

Ashton bit back an excited squeal. She didn't know how Faragonda did it, but she didn't care. That little old lady was Ashton's favorite person at that moment. Faragona had gotten Laura to agree to send Ashton to Alfea. She was really going to get to go!

Eve linked her arm through Ashton's and smiled brightly, "I'm excited about tomorrow, and on top of that, we'll be apartment-mates! This is great! I have at least one roommate that I like!"

"Ashton," Laura said sternly, "I want you to be careful, and stay out of trouble. I don't know much about what is going on, but I only agreed to let you go because I don't want to come home to find I don't have a home because my magical daughter decided to roast it," the corners of the older woman's mouth twitched as she fought back a smile.

"Mom, like I'd roast the place on purpose," Ashton defended herself, crossing her arms in front of her chest.

"Well, anyway, you go start packing," Laura told Ashton, who squealed and pranced off down the hallway, with Eve dancing along beside her.

* * *

><p>Eve awoke with the rising sun the next morning. With a yawn, she sat up and glanced at the still sleeping form that was Ashton curled up in a fetal position, softly snoring. With a sigh, Eve carefully rose from the bed and crept to the window.<p>

Peeking through the blinds, she watched the sun rise in the eastern sky. She smiled watching the pale gray clouds turn pastel pink and orange.

The trees were black silhouettes against the morning sky. It was a picture perfect morning – definitely a good sign for the first day of school, in her opinion. She couldn't help but smile, she loved the mornings. She never missed a sunrise – how could she? No two sunrises are exactly the same.

Always changing… yet so beautiful... each one is unique… just like a person.

_It always relaxes me… whenever I'm worried, or nervous… seeing the sunrise calms me down, _Eve thought to herself as she absently ran her fingers through her hair. She slightly jumped when she heard a groan from the bed.

"The heck?" Ashton mumbled, "Who turned on the sun?" She asked while groggily rubbing her eyes.

"Sorry," Eve whispered, not taking her gaze away from the outside. "I wanted to see the sunrise."

Ashton yawned and stretched with her arms above her head, "You a morning person?"

"Something like that…" Eve replied with a smile.

Ashton blinked repeatedly before putting her head back on the pillow and turning over the opposite way so that her back was facing the window, "As long as you don't fling the curtains open, 'morning person' with my blessings".

Eve chuckled as she watched Ashton pull the covers over her head and snuggle back into the little cocoon of blankets she made around herself. Turning her attention back to the rising sun, she couldn't help the swirling conflicts that whirl pooled around in her mind.

_Maybe this year… will prove worthwhile…maybe… this will be a good year… maybe… I can finally find someone to trust._

T.B.C

* * *

><p><strong>AN:**

**For anyone who may have been offended by Caleb, I don't blame you. I'd be too. I feel that the elderly should be valued because of what they can teach young and naive people. (Myself included.) I don't believe that the elderly should be 'dropped off' and anyone who feels otherwise can shove it as far as I am concerned. I was actually raised by my grandma, and by golly, I think she did a great job with me, I don't know what I'd do without her.**

** I needed something that would really aggravate Ashton into activating her powers. She's really close with her family, so a direct attack on her family was exactly what I needed to get her angry enough. **

**The comment that Grandma in the story said is based off of an inside joke between us. **

**I was messing with her one night, when she was watching NASCAR and she jokingly told me to 'pour arsenic over my plate and shut it' when we were eating dinner one night. Despite our differences, she and I are really close. 3 (Yes. I am a total grandma's girl. xD)**

**(Granny's a total NASCAR fanatic, and I was really bugging her. I kept getting in front of the TV and then trying to dramatically hug her and stuff. I was probably driving her nuts. XD)**

**Special thanks to my French-native/speaking Friend, Mousy with translation and her idea of using French for spells. I love you Mousy~**

** "Tro Lantue Miyer Utyirer Byunh Latrof Anuwe!" loosely translates as "Fire that causes damage now shall end your rampage!"**

**No worries, I will be adding more translations next chapter once all the important peeps show up~**

**Anyhoo – that's enough with chapter two, see y'all again in chapter three ;D**


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